We are looking to privately rehome a spayed bitch as a companion for us and our Mastiff X. We are an experienced dog/cat/horse/fish owners currently with one dog, three dog-tolerant cats and an aquarium. We have been looking for a rather long time and it has proven quite a bit more difficult to find the right dog than we thought!

About us:Middle-aged professionals and I work from home.Own our own home with securely fenced small garden but near a large dog park with fields, woods and river.No children

Our dog is a 3 1/2 year old Mastiff X, Scarlett, about the size of a small, stocky Lab and a big lump of sweet, lazy and sometimes exciteable dog. She came from a rescue (twice over) and had very bad time of it so she can be rather timid of new things but sensible (mostly)...it has taken many months to teach her to play with us, with toys and other dogs.

She is very gentle, quiet and plays/lives well with other dogs; no food, bed or toy aggression. Recently she spent a week staying at a friend's house with their dog and was great with him. She especially likes smaller dogs and is a bit overwhelmed by larger ones.

Although I work from home, our house is very quiet and low-energy during the day, something I encourage. She does enjoy sleeping or dozing in the windowseat. I walk her at least twice a day for at least half an hour to an hour sometimes with longer walks in the countryside with her during the week. She isn't much for running around and playing on her own or with me (uninterested in sticks/balls &c) but does love to run around with other dogs for about 15 minutes at a time (!).

On the weekends, holidays and sometimes during the week, we take her for all-day hikes and mountain biking. Our holidays usually revolve around walking holidays and we would take the dogs with us. Whilst she isn't built for speed she is an amazing long distance dog and regularly does 8 to 11 mile walks with us.

We are responsible pet owners; the whole herd has been neutered/spayed, vaccinated and have EU passports and we feed an organic diet.

We are serious about finding the right dog for us and will only rehome privately, so please no rescues. Not every person who seeks to rehome privately has nefarious purposes in mind such as dog fighting, breeding &c.

We are more than willing to meet up several times to get to know one another, provide reference and stay in touch.

Do consider us if you have a spayed dog seeking a new home and family who sounds like she might like our household and level of activity.

How far are you willing to travel?Distance is never an issue for the right dog!

Does it have to be cat firendly? Or are you willing to train?Cat friendly to me only means they are friendly to the cats they are living with now, not necessarily my cats. Yes, I am more than willing to train and have done so many times in the past.

Would you consider a staffie?Yes, I love a staff and use to work with Pit Bull rescue in the US. Staffs are great family dogs and so often maligned.

Are you sure you want a female? My Mastiff x is good with boys but has spats with our other girl. But all dogs are different I just happen to prefer females since I like their personalities and they tend to be a bit smarter but having said that Scarlett is a bit...well...challenged in the intellect department.As for M/F getting along better, my last two mastiffs were male and female (both neutered as puppies) and just could not stand one another; she was dominant and super intelligent (gold standard working obedience) and he was a witless, goofy, uncoordinated guy.

Hi, my brother is trying to rehome a collie cross bitch, approx 2 yrs old, house and crate trained, neutered, chipped, loves curling up and quiet time, very intelligent, loves to play fetch n run with other dogs. Owned since 7/8 wks old. Great with cats. Resides in Manchester but willing to travel for the right home. They have lost the house due to unemployment, and unfortunately they cant take the dog with them as they are having to stay with family n friends. If your interested I'll try to upload some pictures.

we have a six month old spayed beagle female called poppy arrive today. Given up from a private home as they lived in a flat and realised she is just too much for them. She is a lovely nature but belongs to heswall animal welfare (shes in foster with us) on the wirral....

We have had some terrible disappointments thus far, three people seeking to rehome a dog with us (thought we were perfect) decided to keep their dogs the night before or the day of "the big day". Good for the dogs to say with their families but sad for us.

Again. I know you said no rescues but I am fostering 'Saffron' from Wallace Kennels in Essex (too far?). Your description of your dog sounds very similar to our girlie. Not yet spayed but will be done. Please have a look or pm your email and I will send pics.

I think the disappointing situations you have described when owners change their minds at the last minute are one of the hazards of a private adoption. The other is when people change their minds after the hand over, or are not entirely honest about what the dog is really like. You do avoid this if you go through a rescue. I appreciate that you would prefer a private adoption which is of course entirely your decision, but do be aware of the pitfalls, and when you find the dog you want, draw up a contract that both parties sign. Best of luck.

Alas, the disappointments and frustrations I have experienced over the last few months at the hands of various rescues have far outweighed any disappointments I have experienced in the private adoption world.

But, I'm here to offer a home to a needy dog, not to rail against rescues, many of which are excellent; I just have not yet had a positive rescue experience in this country.

The OP's reasons for adopting privately rather than through a rescue are for them and them alone. I do not wish this thread to be hijacked by anyone. Dog Pages allows private rehoming because quite frankly there are not enough rescue spaces for all the dogs in need, in particular bull breeds. I don't know the OP and I don't want to read about arguments between them and a rescue on this thread. Thanks to all for understanding.

If you want to message me your contact details i have a few private rehomings waiting to come in, 1 is suitable for you, female yorkie x spayed and vac'd and living with a couple of large breed dogs at the moment, my no is 07999546593 if you want to give me a call ( mods half the country seeems to have my no so i have no problem with it being on forum )

My wife just took a job and we are relocating and cannot bring our dog with us.

About our dog, Shelby, we got her 5 years ago from a rescue. We were later told by a trainer that we should have never had her as she was such a handfull for our experience level. She is a choc, short haired, knee height, padderdale terrier, with a strong prey drive. She is great with our kids and our friends kids, not good with small furry animals. We believe she is about 7 years old and likes to be top bitch, happy with boys. significantly calmed after we had her spayed 4 years ago, hasn't brought me a squirrl, or rabbit in at least 3 years, but that dosen't mean she wouldn't try! She has plenty of control so long as you see the situation ahead of time and give her the command. She is house trained and will only wee or poo on grass, not pavement also walks to heel brillantly.

She is in doggy day care once a week for socialising and agility, gets on great with others once she knows her place, has fantastic recall, so long as you don't let her away long enough for her prey drive to take control.

She is full of love, calm at home and jumping when the lead comes out. It breaks our heart to let her go, but she must as we only have a few weeks left. Our last two homes fell through, one to illness of owner the other as she had alot of rabbits in addition to an established dog that wasn't accepting to shelby. They were both excited and got on well with her.

If interested I would love to send you some pics, I won't unless you ask we had her on looks, so a level headed decision.